Preparing for Platinum Circle

We’re nearly a month away from our most glamorous event, the Platinum Circle Awards Gala. Celebrating it’s 26th year, Platinum Circle continues to honor the best in our industry. There’s no shortage of talent, and this year’s class of honorees is no exception.

As you may have read, this year, we’ll honor Adrian Zecha, non-executive chairman of resort developer, Amanresorts; Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group; M. Arthur Gensler Jr., founder, Gensler; and Lauren Rottet, founding principal and president, Rottet Studio. The evening will also honor New York-based Rockwell Group for 30 years of design excellence and innovation.

The honorees are ubiquitous in the industry. Their design stamps are global. In any major city in the world, you’ll find buildings, hotels, restaurants, theaters, hospitals, and more created by this group. And yet, their tales remain inspiring. In our October issue, we explore their stories a little more.

Zecha was a journalist before he become a prolific hotelier, a transition that could have been difficult but one which he did with ease. Gensler’s success hinged on the support of his wife Drue, as he set out to start his own firm in San Francisco in the ’60s. Rottet, who had design in her blood from an early age, recalled her childhood involved building houses for toads in her native Texas, driving her to pursue design. Wunderkind David Rockwell started his own firm when he was only 28, motivated by his love of New York, and now with projects that span hotels, restaurants, airport terminals, hospitals, theaters, and more. And Meyer is the man behind the Shake Shack phenomenon, something for which we should all bow down to him for bringing that into our lives.

That’s only the beginning of their stories. We can’t wait to celebrate them come November 11 at the Conrad hotel in New York, and we hope you’ll join us for the black-tie affair. Tickets are on sale now. See you there!